Basket handle machine



June 1, 1937. A. H. SCHMIDTKE ET AL 2,082,125

BASKET HANDLE MACHINE Filed Jan. 2l, 1955 lO Sheets-Sheet l jx@I o,

l June 1, 1937. A. H. SCHMIDTKE ET A1. 2,082,125

' BASKET HANDLE MACHINE Filed Jan. 2l. 1935 10 Sheecs'-Sheerl 2 `lune l,1937. A SCHMlDTKE ET AL 2,082,125

BASKET HANDLE MACHINE Filed Jan. 21, 1935 io sheets-sheet 5 Jun 1, 1937.

A. H. SCHMIDTKE ET AL BASKET HANDLE MACHINE Filed Jan. 2l, 1935 l0Sheets-Sheet 4 June 1, 1937. A. H. SCHMIDTKE ET AI. 2,082,125

` BASKET HANDLE MACHINE Filed Jan. 21, 1955 vlo sheets-,sheets w l, l Qv j zo@ June 1, 1937. A. H, SCHWDTKE ET AL 2,082,125

BASKET HANDLE MACHINE l0 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Jan. 21, 1935 e au MM P J6w52 a @gym June 1, 1937. A. H. SCHMIDTKE ET AL 2,082,125

BASKET HANDLE MACHINE Filed Jan. 2l. 1955 lO Shee-,S-Sheet '7 se 'L j ii/W June 1, 1937. A. H. SCHMIDTKE EIT AL 2,082,125

BASKET HANDLE MACHINE Filed Jan. 2l, 1935 l0 Sheets-Sheet 8 /y W /77-QLQZ June 1, 1937.

A. H. scHMlD-rKE ET AL BASKET HANDLE MACHINE 1oI sheets-sheet 9 FiledJan. 2l, 1935 June 1, 1937- A. H. scHM|DTKE-ET Al. 2,082,125

BASKET HANDLE MACHINE Filed Jan. 2'1, 1955 1o sheets-sheet 1oIIIIIIIIIIIIll "IIIIIIII I IIIIIII. 'II

IIIIIII Patented June I, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BASKET HANDLEMACHINE A Michigan Application January 21, 12935, Serial No. 2,670

12 claims. 01.- 140-'910 ,Y

Our invention relates to machines for making and attaching handles tobaskets and has reference more particularly to improved mechanism forforming a wire handle and attaching it to the basket so that the ends ofthe wire which are punched through the basket rim are bent upwardlyagainst one side of the rim and over the top thereof and downwardlyagainst the other side of the rim.

The principal objects of our inventionare to provide an improved machinefor making and attaching wire handles to baskets so that the ends of thewire are hooked over the upper edge of the basket rim; to simplify themechanisml5 for bending the wire ends to embrace the upper edge of thebasket rim; to insure an accurate feed of wire to the handleformingmechanism; and to provide facilities for rapidly making andattaching such handles to baskets, these and other objects beingaccomplished with the structure shown in the accompanying drawings inwhich,-

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary top portion of a basket side wall with a handleattached thereto in accordance with our invention; Fig. 2 is a frontview of a machine for making and attaching a handle such as shown inFig. l;

Fig. 3 is aview looking at the rightsside of the machine of Fig. 2, aportion of the frame being broken away to disclose details of theconstruction;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section of the upper portion of themachine taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; n

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional View of the mechanism for forming andattaching the handle to the basket, said mechanism being shown at thecompletion of the bending of the wire into the handle form and beforethe ends of the wire are bent laterally for punching through the basketrim;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the mechanism at thecompletion of the handle attaching operation;

Figs. 'l and 8 are enlarged views, partly in section, on the line 8-8 ofFig. 4, Fig. 7 showing the handle forming mechanism in positionpreparatory to formation of a handle and Fig. i?,

showing the mechanism at the completion of the handle forming operationas it appears in Fig. 4;

Fig. 9 is a detail perspective view of the mechanism that holds thehandle wire during the forming operation;

Fig. l0 is a plan view of the peripheral surface of the cam thatoperates the handle formingslide;

Fig. 11 is a face view of the cam that operates the handle ejector;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged sectional View of the 5 handle wire feedingmechanism taken on the linel |2-I2 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 13 is a View partly in section taken on the line |3-l3 of Fig. 12,and

Fig. 14 is a sectional view on the lines I4--I4 10 of Figs. 12 and 13.

Referring to the drawings, it is to be understood that the basket towhich the handles are attached may be of any desired type, that shownherein and for which the particular machine is 15 designed being of theround bushel basket type such as shown at 20 in Fig. 3 and having sidewall strips or panels 2|, the upper ends of which are'secured betweeninner and outer hoops 22 and 23 respectively to form the basket rim towhich 20 the basket handles are attached. The handles, one of which isindicated at 24 in Fig. 1, are of the same general form as thoseheretofore used, being made of wire with a middle portion 25 having legs26 extending downwardly at the out- 25 er, side of the basket rim andprovided at their lower ends with inturned portions 21 which are punchedthrough the hoops 22 and 23 and the intermediate upper ends of the sidewall strips or panels 2l. The two ends of the wire that 30 project'through the basket rim are bent upwardly as at 28 against the inner faceof the basket rim, then outwardly as at 29 over the top edge of thebasket rim and the extremities of the wire are bent downwardly as at 30against 5 the outer face ofthe basket rim and preferably at the innersides of the handle legs 26 as shown in Fig. 1.

For attaching these handles we preferably ernploy a machine such asshown in Figs. 2 to 14 40 inclusive, in which the basket is lifted upand impaled on the attaching ends of the wire handle, the referencenumeral 3l indicating the base of the machine which has 'a hollowstandard 3 2 extending upwardly therefrom to provide a 45 mounting forhandle forming and attaching devices^which co-operate with the basketlifter which is movably mounted on the front of the standard 32'..

The basket lifter ,comprises a centering crescent 33 on which the basketis located in preparation for and during the handle attaching op..eration, and a pair of plungers 34 which are lo- Y cated within thebasket when the latter is in position for attachment of a handle and areprojected upwardly against the inside of the basket rim in the handleattaching operation. These plunger-s which are alike and spaced apart adistance corresponding to the spacing of the handle legs 26, are mountedto reciprocate vertically in guideways 35 of an anvil bracket 36 whichis secured by cap screws 3l to the front of the standard Sii near thetop, said guideways 35 being closed at the front by a plate 38 which issecured by cap screws 38 to side webs of the bracket 36. rhis plate 38has a shoe portion 46 extending forwardly at the top and rounded at theouter end as shown particularly at 4I in Fig. e, to facilitate theplacing of the basket in the required position for attaching thehandles, which said shoe portion 126 as well as the front part of thebracket St enter the basket and have their top faces rounded from sideto side somewhat as shown in Fig. 2 to correspondto the internalcurvature of the basket side wall which is slipped thereover and reststhereon Ywhen the basket is placed in position preparatory to the handleattaching' operation, a stop-plate 42 being secured on each side of thebracket 36 and projecting thereabove to assist in properly locating thebasket rim. Each plunger S4 is notched at the upper end to providelaterally spaced portions 3 between which a bending dog 44 is pivoted ona pin l5 so as to be located under the place where the respective end ofthe handle wire is punched through the basket -rim and each dog 64 restson the upper end of a shaft or rod 46 which projects upwardly through anopening 4l in the respective plunger 34.

A drive shaft 48 is mounted on the machine frame in bearings i9 and 56,the former of which is on the front wall of the standard 32 and thelatter of which is at the upper end of a bracket 5I which is secured tothe machine base 3i, and this shaft is operated from the pulley 52through a one revclution clutch which is indicated as a whole at 53 andcontrolled by the lever 54 which is pivcted at '55 on the standard andprovided with al pedal 56 at the forward end. Details of theconstruction of the clutch 53 are not shown as such clutches are wellknown, the arrangement being such that when the pedal 56 is depressedthe pulley 52, which is operated from any suitable source of power, isclutched to and rotates the shaft 36 and when the shaft has made acomplete revolution, the pedal 56 having in the meantime been released,the shaft 48 is automatically unclutched'from the constantly drivenpulley 52 and remains stationary until the pedal 56 is again depressed.

Fixed on the forward end of the shaft 48 in front of the standard 32 isa cam disk 51 with a forwardly extending hub like portion, indicated bydotted lines at 56 in Fig. 2, which engages the slot 59 in the lowervend of the combined basket lifting andV handle clinch .yoke 66, and thisyoke has a roller on the rear, indicated by dotted lines at 6i in Fig.2, which engages a cam groove 62 which is suitably formed in thel frontface of the cam disk 6l to lift the yoke 68 at the proper time in eachrotation of the shaft d8, the lower end of said yoke 66 beingretained onthe` hub portion 68 and the roller 6| being maintained in engagementwith the cam groove 62 by the collar 63 which is xed on the shaft at theforward end of the hub portion 58. Y

The yoke 66 has the centering crescent 33 mounted thereon by cap screws64 passing through slotted openings 65 in the flange 66 of a bracket 6lto which the crescent 33 is at-` tached so that said crescent isadjustable vertically on said yoke 66, and said yoke has the upper endturned out as at 68 and apertured to receive the lower ends of the stemsi6 which project upwardly through the openings 4l of the respectiveplungers 36. lThe stems i6 are threaded at their lower ends and securedto the out-turned upper end 63 of the yoke 68 by lock nuts 69 whichpermit adjustment of said stems on the yoke. The upper ends of the stems6 are vertically slidable in the openings il of the plungers 34, suchsliding movement being limited by a pin lil which extends through thestem and has the ends engaged in vertical slots 'il cf the plunger 34. Aheavy coil spring l2 surrounds each stem 46 and is compressed betweenthe respective plunger 34 and a nut i3 on the stern to normally hold theplunger at the upper limit of its permitted movement on the stem and toprovide clamping pressure which the plunger exerts on the basket rim inthe handle attaching operation, at which time the stem i6 is projectedupwardly against the tension of the spring 12 to rock the bending doglil and bend the wire end that is punched through the basket rim.

The cam disk 5l also has another carn groove 'M which is in its rearface as shown in Fig. 1l and engaged by a roller l5 on the lower end ofa bar 'i6 which slides vertically in a guide 'Il on the front wall ofthe standard 32, said cam groove 'i4 being formed with an inwardlydeect-ed portion i8, which at the proper time in each revolution of theshaft i8 operates a stripper, as will be more fully explainedhereinafter, for

removing the basket handle from the handle forming block after thehandle has been attached to the basket.

Referring now to the mechanism for forming and attaching the handle,this mechanism as indicated hereinbefore is mounted on the upper end ofthe standard 32 which is provided with a laterally extending flange 'i6at each side for this purpose. A plate 88 is secured on the top of thestandard 32 by cap screws which extend upwardly through the flanges 'i6and are threaded into the lateral edge portions of the plate 88, whichit will be observed in Fig. 3 projectsrearwardly from the standard. Thisplate constitutes a slide-way for a plate like handle former 82 and isaccordingly recessed in the top face from front to rear to receive saidhandle former plate 82 between lateral shoulders 83 and Sli of saidplate 88, the bottom of the recess being formed as is the usual practicein such cases with slightly elevated milled faces 65 along the sides onwhich the plate 82 actually slides and by reason of which a spaceappears between the plates 86 and 82 in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 of thedrawings.

For holding the handle forming plate in the recess of the plate 86, thecasting 36 which serves as a mounting for handle forming parts, isprovided with an attaching flange d'1 at the base which is substantiallyco-extensive with the plate 86 and secured along its lateral edges tothe shouldered edge portions 63 and of said plate by cap screws 88. Thiscasting 86 has a bearing 89 directly over the standard 32 for thevertically reciprocable shaft S6 which extends downwardly throughopenings Si and 62 respectively in the plate ed and top wall thestandard 32 and through the bearing 63 of said standard, and at itslower end said shaft Si! is pivotally connected as at 94 with the link65, the lower end of which embraces an eccentric 9S on the shaft 48, sothat in each revolution of the shaft 48 the shaft is reciprocated tooperate a handle end bender that is carried by the casting 86.

The basket handle is formed from wire that is fed laterally into themachine at suitable intervals to provide a proper length which is cutoff by the former plate 82 as it starts to mover forwardly from itsretracted position and which said cut off length of wire is then by thefurther forward movement of said plate 82, bent around a former block 91into the handle form shown at 25*ab in Fig. 8, said former block 91being rigidly secured by screws 88 to the bottom face of the casting 86directly in front of the path of insertion of the handle wire and havingan integral top rib or flange 99 along the rear edge which enters arecess |00 in the bottom face of the casting 86 and engages behind theshoulder |0| at the front of said recess. y l

The handle wire which is indicated at |02 is supplied from any suitablesource as for example, a rotatably mounted coil (not shown) which is theusual practice, and is drawn by the feeding mechanism through astraightening device comprising a series of horizontal and verticalrolls |03 and |04 respectively mounted in a frame |05 which has anattaching portion |06 secured by cap screws |01 to the outer end of anelongated bracket |08 which is secured at its inner end by cap screws|09 to the side of the standard 32 atY the upper end. A pair of spacedbars ||0 are located at the front of and secured at their ends tothebracket |08 to provide ways upon which a wire feed carriage is adaptedto be reciprocated, said carriage comprising a casting ||I having arecess I2 in the front face for the rails I I0 which are overlapped bythe upper and lower plates I I3 and ||4 respectively, these plates beingsecured by cap screws |I5 to the shoulders of the casting that are aboveand below the recess I I2 and serving to hold the casting on the railsor ways ||0.

The upper plate ||3 has a longitudinal groove I |6 in the top edge toprovide a channel for the wire |02 which is held thereinr by overlyingportions. of clips ||1 which may be attached by the same cap screws ||5which are employed for mounting the upper plate I|3 and between theclips ||1 the top edge of the plate |I3 is notched transversely asV at||8 to admit the pointed ends of pawls IIS which serve in the movementof the carriage inwardly toward the standard 32 to grip the wire |02 andfeed it to the handle forming mechanism. These pawls are pivoted toswing freely on pivot pins |20 which are threaded into the top portionof the casting which has a lug |2| at the machine side of each pawl I I9between which said lug and pawl is interposed aIspring |22 at suitabletension to insure gripping engagement of the pawl with the wire |02 soas to feed the wire to the machine when the carriage is moved toward thestandard 32 and to permit release ofthe pawl so that it slides along thewire in the reverse movement of the carriage at which time the wire isheld against retrograde movement by the resistance offered thereto bythe series of straightening rolls |03 and |04.

For operating the carriage I to feed the exact length of wire requiredfor each basket handle, the carriage casting is provided on the rearface with a pairv vof adjustable abutments or wiper arms |23 and |24which are positioned to be engaged by a roller |25 on the outer end of acrank |26 that is fixed on the forward end of a shaft |21 that extendsrearwardly through a bearing |28 of the bracket |08 and is provided onits rear end with a sprocket I 29 which is driven by the chain |30 froma sprocket |3| on the drive shaft 48 of the machine sothat the crankturns in the direction indicated by the arrow |32 in Fig. 13.

The abutment or wiper arm |23, which is engaged by the roller |25 in therst half of the downy stroke of the crank for moving the carriage tofeed the wire, is clamped against the rear face of-the carriage castingIII by a cap screw |33 at itslower end, and at its upper end said arm isbraced against a screw |34 which is, threaded through a lug |35 of thecasting, and may be adjusted to provide a slight regulation of theforward position to which the carriage is impelled by the crank |26 androller |25.

The other abutment or wiper arm |24, which is engaged by the roller |25in the first half of. the upstroke of the crank for retracting thecarriage to grip the wire farther back in preparation vfor feedinganother handle length, is likewise clamped against the rear face of thecarriage casting III by a cap screw |36 at its lower end andthe upperend of this arm |24 is braced against a screw |31 which is threadedthrough a lug |38 of the casting. Inasmuch as the final retractingimpulse of the crank |26 and roller |25 is applied at the upper endofthis arm |24 a considerable variation in the distance of retraction ofthe carriage may be obtained by adjustment of the screwr |31 and, as thelength of wire that is fed is determined by the distance the carriage isretracted, a corresponding variation results in the length of handleWire that is fed to the machine.

In the feeding movement of the carriage the wire is drawn through theWire straightening device |05 and as this offers suflicient resistanceto prevent forward overthrow of the carriage by the feeding operation ofthe crank |26 and roller |25 the carriage casting I|| vis merelyprovidedon its rear face with a lug |39 in front of which the roller |25passes as it` engages the lower end of the Wiper arm |23. In theretractile movement of the carriage, however, noI such resistanceisencountered and vin order to stop the carriage accurately and withoutrebound at the desired final-position of retraction, a friction deviceis provided which effects a braking action on the carriage as it nearsthev end of its retractile movement, with the result that the carriagemust be pushed to the final retracted position by the engagement of thecrank roller |25 with the wiper arm |24 and the final retracted positionof the carriage is accordingly accurately controlled by the ,adjustmentof the upper end vof the arm For effecting this brakingA actionon thecarriage a plate |40 is slidably mounted on stems |42 which projectforwardly from the rails ||0 and have coil springs |4I thereon which areheld under tension by nuts |43 so that they pressuthe plate |40 towardthe rails IIO, such movement of said plate being limited however, by capscrews |44 which are threaded through the plate |40 and engage againstthe rails IIlJ.l A facing |45 of friction material is secured to theinner face of the plate |40 and on the outer face of the carriagecasting III between therails ||0 is' a tapered shoe |46 which intheretractile movementv of the carriage slides behind andV engages thefriction facing |45 ofthe plate |40 ina wedge like manner so as toimpose a frictional resistance to the nal retractilemovement of thecarriage, it being understood, of course, thatv the time and extent ofthe frictional resistance may be varied by` adjusting the spacer screws|44' and the spring tension nuts |43.

The wire |02 is fed by the carriage into the machine through a wirecutting tube |41 which is secured by screws |48 in a tubular boss |49 onthe side of the plate 89, said wire being projected across the forwardend of the slide-way in said plate and in front of the retracted handleformer 82 which has a cutter block |56 secured on the lateral edge atthe forward end and which said cutter block |56 in the forward movementof the former 82, co-operates with the inner end of the cutter tube |41to out oif the length of wire which is to constitute a basket handle,the side shoulder 84. of the plate 89 being offset as at |5| toaccommodate the cutter block |59 and the other side should-er 83 of saidplate 86 being terminated at |52 to permit clearance for the innerend'of the wire |52 when inserted in position as shown in Fig. '7 toprovide a handle blank.

For holding the cut off length of wire in the position it is to occupyin the handle forming operation and to guide the wire to this positionin the inserting operation, acomposite structure as shown in Fig. 9 andof the same total width asv the former block 91 is provided with a sortof sectional wire channel immediately behind and closed at the front bysaid former block 91, the middle element of this structure being adeflector block |53 which is firmly secured by screws |54 to the bottomof the casting 86 with an adjustable screw stud |55 at the front endproject ing upwardly into and bearing against the top wall of the recess|96 of said casting as shown in Fig. 4. At each side of the forward endof the block |53 are two spaced fingers |55 which are integralextensions of a stripper plate |51 which is mounted to slide verticallyin a guide notch |58 that is formed in the rear of the plunger bracket36 and holds said stripper plate in sliding engagement with the upperportion of the front wall of the standard 32, and this stripper platehas a lug |59 secured to and projecting forwardly from its lower end andconnected by a threaded adjusting rod |66 with the upper end of the camoperated bar 16 so that the stripper plate |51 is normally heldin itselevated position in which the upper ends of the fingers |56 projectinto the recess |66 in the under side of the casting 86 and is pulleddownwardly at a prescribed time in each revolution of the shaft 48 bythe offset portion 18 of the cam groove 14 in the rear face of the camdisk 51.

A pintle |6| extends transversely through the rear end of the deflectorblock |53 which is provided with laterally extending hubs |62 serving asspacers for a pair of rocker arms |63 which are held on the oppositeends of the pintle by washers |64 and cotters |65 and have their forwardends located between the respective pairs of fingers |56; A coil spring|65 surrounds each hub |62 and has an end thereof engaged under andexerting a lifting tension on the adjoining arm |63 to normally holdthese arms in a level position against the bottom face of the casting66.

Aligning notches are provided in the front edges of the fingers |56 oneof which said notches is indicated by the reference numeral |51 and theothers by the reference numeral |58, said notches being in line with thewire |92 which is passed therethrough as it is fed. into positionpreparatory to the formation of each basket handle, said notches beingat the time located directly behind and closed at the front by the lrear face of the former block 9.1 and the notch |61 through which theend of the advancing wire |62 first passes being flared downwardly andrearwardlyy as shown in Fig. 9 to direct the wire end therethrough andAto the other succeeding notches |68 which merely have their upper andlower entering edges beveled as shown in said figure.

The stationary deilector block |53 and arms |53 have vertical front endfaces |69 and |19 respectively which are substantially at the elevationof and in the plane of the back walls of the notches |68 and the inneredge of the back wall ofthe notch |61 so that said faces |59 and |19 andthe back walls of the notches |58 afford substantially a continuoustransverse surface to which the end of the wire is guided by therearwardly flared rear face of the notch |61 and along which saidsurface the wire end slides in the wire feeding operation. The deflectorblock |53 has an inclined ledge |1| and the arms |63 have shoulders |12just below the normal level of the notches |58, all as shown quiteclearly in Fig. 9, the inclined ledge |1|, which is stationary, and theshoulders |12 which may swing downwardly with the arms |63 against thetension of the springs |62 serving in the downward movement of thestripper plate |51 after each basket handle is completed and attached tothe basket, to cooperate with said stripper plate |51 in dislodging andejecting the completed basket handle from behind the former block 91.

The handle former plate 82, which as before indicated, cuts oi thelength of handle wire and bends it around the former block 91, isbifurcated as indicated at |13 to provide laterally spaced rlat arms |14which straddle the upright shaft S9 and the handle wire holder |53, |56and |63 and the forming block 91 and each arm |14 has at its forward endalong the inner side a wire bending insert |15 which, in the forwardmovement of the former plate 84, slides close along the respective sideof the former block 91, and each insert |15 has a longitudinal grooveS16 along the inner edge at the top to accommodate the respective leg ofthe handle as said leg is bent forwardly by said insert along the sideof the former block 91 as shown in Fig. 8.

For operating the handle former 82 a cylindrical cam |18 is mounted on aspindle 19 that projects rearwardly from the upper end of the standardand has a circumferential cam groove |99 engaged by a roller |8| that issecured to and extends downwardly from the plate 82 near the rear end,and said cam |18 is rotated in proper timed relation with the driveshaft 49 and the cam groove |89 is suitably formed to co-operate withthe roller 8| and project the handle former 82 forwardly to the positionshown in Fig. 8 at the requiredtime to cut off and bend a piece of thewire |62 in handle form and to retract said former to the position ofFig. 7 after the handle has been formed and attached to the basket. Thecam groove |89, as shown by-the developed view thereofin Fig. 10, hasthe oppositely inclined faces |82 andV |83, the former of which acts onthe roller |8| to project the handle former 82 forwardly to cut off andbend the handle wire and is preferably provided with a replaceablefacing |64, while the inclined face |83 acts on the roller |8| toretract said former plate 82, said inclined faces being caused vto movepast the roller |8| in the direction of the arrow of Fig. l0 by rotationimparted to the cam |18 through the chain |39 which is passed around asprocket |65 that is secured to the rear end of the cam |18, it beingunderstood that all of the sprockets |29, |3| and |85 are-of the samesize so that the handle wire feed shaft |21 and the cam |78 rotate inunison with the drive shaft d8.

In order to permit adjustment for varying the extreme forward positionto which the former plate 92 is projected by the cam |89, the roller ISIis .not yattewhed directly to the plate 92 but to a mounting member |96which is located in an opening Il at the rear of the plate 82, to whichsaid member is secured by the cap screws |39. A threaded stem |99projects rearwardly from the member |86 tlnough a bridging |99, at therear of the plate 82 and has clamping nuts |9| thereon for adjusting themember |99 forwardly and rearwardly on .the plate 82, the openings |92of the member |86 through which the cap screws are passed being slottedfor this purpose.

After the handle wire has been bent by the former plate 8'2 to the formshown at 25a in Fig. 8, and while the former plate is in the forwardlyprojected position ofFigs. 4, 5 and 8 and .supporting the legs of theformed handle wire, the end portions of the legs which project beyondthe former plate 82 as shown in said figures are bent downwardly againstthe end of the former plate to the position shown by dotted lines at |93in Figs. 4 and 5 ready for penetrating the basket rim which isthereafter lifted up by the plungers 34 and impaled on these downturnedends |93.

The' bending. mechanism for the handle wire ends |93 is mounted on thefront of the casting 86 which is formedwith a forwardly extending web|94 which has a slide-way housing |95 at the front for the bending plate|96 which is held therein by the cover |91. A tapered plate |98 issecured in the channel or slide-wayof the housing |95 so that thellowerend thereof is just above the outer ends of the arms |24 of the handleforming slide 82 when the latter is in the outwardly projected position,and this plate |98 has a hardenedbearing edge member |99 secured to itslower end and engaging over the legs of the handle wire immediately backof the place where the bend occurs in bending .the ends ofthe handlelegs downwardly.

The bending plate |96 is positively propelled downwardly in the bendingoperation by a releasable connection with the shaft 9D and is returnedto the initial position by the work as the latter is raised and impaledon the downturned wireends |93, ysaid plate |96 having grooves 290 inwhich the wire ends are turned downwardly and by which these lends aresupported during the impaling operation. The releasable connection foroperating the bending plate comprises a push bar or latch 24|, which ispivoted to the outer end of a bracket 29|, on the shaft 99 and extendsdownwardly within an enlargement 292 of the cover |92 in a position toengage the upper edge of the bending plate |96, said push bar beingprovided for this purpose with a notch 263 at its lower end withhardened shoulder 294 which is normally held by a plate spring 295 inposition to engage the upper edge of the bending plate |96, and saidpush bar has a beveled shoulder 206 which at the proper time in thedownward movement of the push bar, engages the contact plate 29'! at theupper end of the tapered plate |99 and releases the lower end of thepush bar 24| from the bending plate |96.

It is desired to resiliently maintain the bending plate |96 thereafterin its lowermost position and at the same time to permit it to yield asthe basket rim is impaled on the downturned handle leg ends |93 and toinsure positive return of said plate |96 to its upper starting position,and .for this purpose a lever 298 is pivoted at299 between lugs 2| 0 atthe upper end of the web- |94 and has a forked forward end or yoke thearms 2|.I of which vstraddle the push bar 24| and are connected by links2|2 with the plate |96 at opposite sides of the enlargement or bulge292. The plate |99 is provided for this purpose with a pivot` stud 2 3at each side of said bulge 292 which said stud projects through a slot2M in the cover plate I9? and is provided at vritsouterend wtha pair ofpivot lugs between which the lower end of its respective link 2|2 ispivoted as at 2|5 and the upper ends oftheselinks are pivoted on therespective ends of a pivoty pin 2|6 which extends betweenv the ends ofthe yoke arms of the lever A plate spring -2 is secured at 2 9 to thefront of the bulge 202 of the cover plate |91 and at its upper end has ahump 2 9 located between the upper and lower extremities of movement ofthe pin 2|6 and bearing thereagainst so as to resiliently hold .thelever 299 in each extremity of its pivotal movement and when the bendingplate |96 has been projected downwardly to bend the ends of Ithe handlewire downwardly, the hump 2 9 engages over the pin 2|6and yieldinglyholds said plate |96k in its lowermost position, but permits said plateto slip back upwardly along the downturned wire ends V|93 against theresistance of the springv 2|,|v as required when the basket rim islifted up and impaled on said wire ends. To insure positive return ofthe plate |96 to the starting position after the handle has beenattached, a set screw 2291s threaded into the under side of the bracketarm 29| in position to strike the rear end of the lever 298 as thesnaft99 nears the end of its down stroke kand thereby throw the forward endof said lever up so that the plate |96 is lifted to the elevatedposition and the pin 2|-6 engagedrwith the spring 2|'.l above the hump2|9. A stop pin 22| limits the inward swinging of the push bar 24| so asto insure positioning of .the notch 203 to engage the plate |96.

. After the wire ends |93 havebeen turned downwardly, the plungers 34,which are located respectively under the downturned handle ends |93, arelifted to impalelthebasket rim on said downturnedhandle ends vand tobring the vbending dogs 44 into positionV to vdeflect the` wire endstoward the upper edge of the basket rim as said ends penetrate throughthe basket rim, the cam |18 being'suitably timed lto withdraw the outerends of the handle former plate 82 from under the Wire handle at thattime so as to permit the basket rim on the plungers to be clampedagainst the under side of the outer end portions of the handle legswhich are in turn clamped against the lower edge of the bearing member|99. Each of the bending dogs 44 has a groove 222 in the top facearranged as shown in Figs. 7 and 8 to deflect the wire ends slightlytoward one another so that these ends may be turned over the upper edgeyof the basket rim at the inner sides of the vhandle legs 26 as shown inFig. l, and these bending dogs 44, which occupy the position shown inFig. 5 during the elevation of the plungers 34 andA basket rim thereon,start the bending ofthe wire ends during that time.

It will be recalled that the rods 45 on which the dogs 44 rest, have anon-yielding connection with the cam operated yoke 69 while the plungers34 are yieldingly held on the upper ends of the with the upper edge ofsprings 12 which are stiff enough to lift the plungers 34 and impale thebasket rim on the wire portions |93 before the dogs 44 are rocked ontheir pivots 45. As soo-n, however, as the basket rim is fully impaledon the wire ends |93 and clamped against the legs of the handle as shownin Fig. 6, the plungers 34 are held thereby against further upwardmovement, at which time the cam groove 62 imparts a slight furtherupward movement tothe yoke 60 and the stems 46 which rock the bendingdogs 44 to the position shown in Fig. 4 and bends the projecting wireends against the inner face of the basket rim and across the upper edgethereof so that these projecting ends are shaped and locatedsubstantially as indicated by dotted lines at 224 in Fig. 5.

The upwardly projecting ends of the wire are then bent against the outerside of the basket rim by a pair of slide bars 225 which are mounted atopposite sides of the bearing 89 under retaining plates 226 and haveoffset forward ends 221 sliding in slots 242 which are provided thereforin the base ilange 81 of the casting 86. The offset ends 221 of theseslide bars are closer together than the distance between the legs 26V ofthe basket handle so as to operate on the upturned extremities of thewire ends at the inner sides of these legs 26, and as these offset ends221 in the retracted position are along the sides of wire holdingassembly of Fig. 9 and directly over the path of feed of the baskethandle wire, the outer fingers |56 of the stripper plate |51 are notchedas at 228 to accommodate the innerlower corners of the offsets 221 andthe oiset 221 at the wire feed side of the machine is under cut as at229 to guide the wire into position in the holding device of Fig. 9.

A rocker shaft 230 is mounted in a bearing 23| at the rear of theupright shaft bearing 86 and has a pair of depending arms 232 with whichthe slides 225 are connected by links 233, and this shaft 236 also hasanother arm 234 connected by a rod 235 With a slotted head 236 whichembraces the main shaft 48 and has a cam roller 231 thereon which isengaged by a cam 238 at the proper time to project the slide bars 225forwardly and bend the handle wire ends down against theouter side ofthe basket rim as sho-wn in Fig. 6, the return movement of the slides225 from the wire end bending position of Fig. 6 to the retractedposition of Fig. 5 being effected, upon release of the cam 238, by thespring 239 which exerts a rearward pulling tendency on one of the arms232. f

In the operation of this machine the basket is placed in position asindicated at 2U in Fig. 3 with the bottom portion of the rim within thecrescent 33 and the portion of the rim where the handle is to beattached slipped over the shoe 4| and anvil bracket 36 tol a positionbutting against the stops 42. The pedal 56 is then momentarily depressedto permit the clutch 53 to engage the shaft 48 with the constantlydriven pulley 52 and as the shaft 48 starts to rotate, the slide orformer plate 82 is projected forwardly by the corresponding rotation ofthe cam |18 and cuts off from the wire |02, which was fed into theposition shown in Fig. '7 at the conclusion of the last preceding handleattaching operation, a handle length of wire and bends this wire aroundthe block 91 into the form shown at 25e in Fig. 8. The eccentric 96 onthe shaft 48 is timed with the cam |18 so that as soon as the ends ofthe handle legs are bent around in parallel relation under the slide|96, the shaft 98 starts to move downwardly and bends the handle legends down to the position |93 while the handle legs are supported on theoutwardly projected former or slide 82. The cam 51 is also arranged sothat the cam groove 62 starts lifting the yoke 69 at the proper time sothat the basket rim is lifted up and impaled on the wire ends |93 assoon as they are bent down to the impaling position, this beingaccomplishedby Vstarting the elevation of the plungers 34 at or slightlybefore the instant turning down of the wire ends |93 and in suitabletimed relation with the slides 82 and |96 so that the outer ends of theslide 82 remain in the forwardly projected position to support the wireas the ends |93 are bent downwardly but are retracted far enough beforethe basket rim is lifted up, so that the outer end portions of thehandle legs against which the basket rim is clamped are exposed on theirunder sides by the time the basket rim is lifted up thereagainst by theplungers 34.

As the basket rim is being impaled on the handle wire ends |93 thesewire ends come in contact with the bending dogs and are slightly bentthereby and when the basket rim is fully impaled the dogs 44 are kickedupwardly by the stems 46 and bend the handle wire ends against thebasket rim in the manner shown in Fig. 6 but with the extremities of thewire projecting up above the basket rim. As soon as the handle wire endsare bent to this position, the slide bars 225 are projected forwardlyagainst the upwardly extending extremities of the wire ends and theseextremities are bent down against the outer side of the basket rim asshown in Figs. 1 and 6.

The slide or former plate 82 has been retracted during the basketelevating and handle clinching operations so that the basket handle isfreed therefrom and in the final part of the revolution of the shaft 48,the plungers 34 are retracted downwardly to the starting position so asto free the basket rim and at this time the offset 1B of the cam groove14 acts momentarily on the roller 15 to jerk the stripper plate |51downwardly and release the attached basket handle from behind the formerblock 91, the forward ends of the arms |63 being swung downwardly at thetime against the returning tension of their springs 66 and the inclinedface |1| of the block |53 serving to deflect or kick the cross portionof theI handle forwardly from under the rear end of the former block 91and out of the notches |61-|68. As soon as this occurs, the stripperplate |51 and arms |63 return to the normal position to receive the endof the Wire |02 which is fed byvtlie feed carriage I2, near the end ofeach revolution of the shaft 48 into position to provide the nexthandle, it being understood that all of the above described handleforming and attaching operations occur during a single revolution of theshaft 48 which at the end of each revolution is automaticallydisconnected from the drive pulley 52 and remains inoperative until thepedal 56 is again depressed.

After the handle 25 has been attached to the basket rim at one side ofthe basket, the basket is given a half turn so that the attached handleis at the center of the crescent 33 and the upper edge of the basket rimis then pushed in against the stops 42 to the handle attaching positionon the anvil bracket 36 and shoe 40 and the pedal 56 again depressed sothat another revolution is imparted to the shaft 48 to attach a handleto the opposite side ofY the basket and reset the machine for the nextsucceeding handle attaching operation.

While We have shown and described our invention in a preferred form, Weare aware that va rions changes and modifications may be made Withoutdeparting from the principles of our invention, the scope of which is tobe determined by the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

l. In a machine for attaching Wire handles to the rim of a basket, thecombination of handle forming and attaching mechanism including a pairof adjoining, successively reciprocable Wire bending devices operable insubstantially parallel paths, one of Which forms the wire into bailshape and the other of which is operable thereafter to bend the ends ofthe Wire along the side of the basket rim, and mechanism operable afterformation of the Wire into bail shape to drive the ends thereof throughthe basket rim before the wire ends are bent along the side of thebasket rim.

2. In a machine for attaching Wire handles to I the rim of a basket, thecombination of mechanism operable to punch the end portions of thehandle Wire through the basket rim and to bend the said end portionsoutwardly toward the center portion of the handle Wire and o-Ver the topedge of the rim, means operable thereafter to bend the extremities ofthe Wire end portions against the outer side of the basket rim, and awire holding member engaged With the center portion of the handle Wirethroughout the punching operation of said mechanism and the bendingoperation of said means.

3. In a machine for attaching Wire handles to the rim of a basket, thecombination of mechanism operable to bend a length of Wire into theforni of a handle with substantially parallel legs and laterallyextending attaching portions at the outer ends of the legs, means formoving the basket td impale the rim on said attaching portions, saidbasket moving means including devices which are operable to bend theends of said attaching portions toward and across the top edge of thebasket rim, and wire holding means engaged With the center portion ofthe length of Wire throughout the bending thereof in handle form and theimpaling of the basket rim on the attaching portions of the handle.

4. In a machine for attaching Wire handles to the rim of a basket, thecombination of handle supporting means, propelling mechanism operable toadvance the basket toward and impale the basket rim on` the handle endsand to clamp the basket rim against said supporting means, and deviceson said propelling mechanism and brought into action by the clampingengagement of the propelling mechanism against the basket rim to bendthe handle ends toward and across the top of the basket rim.

5. In a machine for attaching bail shaped Wire handles to the rim of abasket, the combination of two sliding devices, one of which is operablete bend end portions of the bail legs. laterally from the plane of thebail shaped handle and to hold said bent end portions in position toimpale the basket rim and the other of which is operable substantiallyat right angles to the first mentioned device and bends the extremitiesof said bent end portions against the outer side of the basket rim. v

6. In a machine for attaching Wire handles to the rim oi a basket, the.combination of a pair of parallel sliding devices and a sliding deviceoperable substantially at right angles thereto, one of said parallelsliding devices being Operable tc bend a length of Wire into handle formand the sliding device at right angles being operable to bend the endportions of the wire laterally to provide attaching portions and theother parallel device being operable to bend the ends of said attachingportions against the outer side of the basket rim, and holding meansengaged with the center portion of the length of Wire throughout theaforesaid operations of said sliding devices.

7. In a machine for attaching Wire handles to the rim of a basket, thecombination with handle forming and driving facilities, of a Wire feedcomprising 'a reciprocable carriage, a crank, and spaced abutments onthe carriage engaged alternately by the crank for reciprocating thecarriage, each abutment being shiftable by the crank to opposite sidesof the axis of rotation of the crank.

8. In a machine for attaching Wire handles to the rim of a basket, thecombination with handle forming and driving facilities, of a wire feedcomprising a reciprocable carriage, a crank, and spaced abutments on thecarriage engaged alternately by the crank for reciprocating thecarriage, said abutments being adjustable to and from one another andshiftable by the crank to opposite sides of the axis of rotation of thecrank.

9. In a machine for attaching Wire handles to the rim of a basket, thecombination with handle forming and driving facilities, of a wire feedcomprising a reciprocable carriage, a crank, spaced abutments on thecarriage engaged alternately by the crank for reciprocating thecarriage, and a friction brake for arresting movement of the carriage asit nears one end of its reciprocable movement.

l0. In a machine for attaching Wire handles or the like to the rim of abasket, the combination of a support for the basket rim, mechanismoperable to bend a length of Wireinto handle like form with spacedsubstantially parallel legs connected at one end and with a laterallyextending attaching portion at the other end of each leg, means operableto punch said attaching portions through the basket rim so that partsthereof project through the rim, mechanism at one side of the basket rimoperable to: engage and bend said projecting parts toward the connectedends of the said legs and across the top edge of the basket rim, and areciprocable slide operable at the other side of the basket rim toengageand bend the extremities of said projecting parts away from theconnected ends of said legs and against the last mentioned side of thebasket rim.

11. In a machine for attaching wire handles or the like to the rim of abasket, the combination of a support for the basket rim, mechanismoperable to bend a length of Wire into handle like form with spacedsubstantially parallel legs connected at one end and With a laterallyextending attaching portion at the other end of each leg, means operableto punch said attaching portions through the basket rim so that partsthereof project through the rim and to bend said projecting parts towardthe connected ends of the said legs and across the top edge of the rim,and bending means slidable outwardly along the handle legs toward theattached ends thereof to engage and bend the extremities of saidprojecting parts away from the connected ends of rim and to bend saidprojecting parts toward the said middle portion and across the top edgeof the rim, bending means operable to bend the extremities of saidprojecting parts away from the middle portion of the handle and againstthe side of the basket rim and a holder Within Which the middle portionof the handlev is locked during the operation of Said bending means.

ALBERT I-I. SCHMIDTKE. PAUL I-IINTZ.

